In the Night Sky
by Chrome Hearts
Summary: Charli x Candy Wenka x Candy - Willow and Claire plan to go camping in the Sweet Amoris forest, but their plans are interrupted by three unlikely brothers. Sometimes, it takes a little more than kindness to get people to open their heart. Short Series.
1. The Meeting

Title; In the Night Sky  
Authoress; Chrome Hearts  
Style: Three-shot.  
Chapter; I - The Meeting  
Fandom; My Candy Love  
Main Focus; Charli x OC Wenka x OC  
Rating; K+

_**A/N: So, there's a dangerously low amount (being none) of fanfics on these guys. Not on the MCL forum (I scrolled through all twenty nine pages and found none) and on fanfictiondotnet. Aww.  
SO~  
As a result of my procrastination, here is the first Charli, Wenka and Willi (the rabbit guys from the Easter episode) fic~  
As a side note – I shall update the Castiel story soon enough. That one is more so a pastime than anything serious. And please stop asking me about the sequel to The Only Thing I'm Missing or asking me for spoilers relating to it. It's out whenever it's out. And I plan on it being a surprise.**_

_**Disclaimer; All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm also only half certain Wenka is a boy. That in itself is a disclaimer.**  
_

_~In The Night Sky~_

Claire laced her fingers together, stretching them behind her back as she stood at the forests edge. Her best friend Willow stood next to her, swinging her backpack over her shoulders as she smiled at the forest that stretched out ahead of her – large dollops of sunlight were speckled across the forests floor.  
"Ready?" Claire asked as she tilted her head to the side, her grey eyes shining. Willow nodded.  
"Sure am!" she said, a wide grin spreading across her pretty face. "What better way to spend a weekend that out camping in the forest?"  
The two girls slowly made their way into the forest, weaving their way between the trunks of the large trees that seemed to tower above them. Occasionally, they stopped to adjust their packs, shifting them from one shoulder to another to try and evenly distribute the weight and ease their aching muscles.  
They had been walking for several hours when the dense cluster of trees finally began to spread out, a blanket of emerald stretching out before them.  
Stumbling over the unearthed tree roots, Willow and Claire quickened their pace as they made their way over to the clearing.  
There, a wide, incredibly _vast_ field blanketed the ground with springy grass, occasionally dotted with small clusters of daisies and lilac.  
The sky was crystal clear, a brilliant shade of blue – soft, seemingly fluffy and pure white clouds stretched out in small patterns across it.  
Claire looked around her; the forest around them seemed to rise with the landscape around the large clearing, forming a sort of bowl around them.  
"This looks like a decent place to stop for lunch," Willow said with a small smile.  
She pointed to something just to the right of her.  
"There's a small hill over there, maybe we could set up there?"  
Claire nodded her agreement, her stomach rumbling softly.  
"Sounds like a plan," she grinned and the two began to cross the clearing towards it, the emerald grass soft and springy beneath their feet.  
The muscles in Claire's calves shuddered in protest as she hunched over, slowly climbing the steep hill. Relief finally washed over her as the two of them reached the top and she dropped to the ground with an exaggerated sigh.  
Willow rolled her eyes playfully at her friend.  
"Don't make yourself too comfortable," she teased, dropping her pack to the ground and crouching next to it. "I'm not making your lunch too, you know."  
A small frown crossed Claire's face as she pulled herself into a crouching position next to her own pack, unzipping it, her hands digging around inside for something to eat.  
Something shiny caught her attention and she looked up quickly.  
There, a short way away, glittering in the sunlight was a shallow river that ran across the clearing the small, colourful pebbles that decorated the bottom sparkled in the sun's rays. As the river drew closer to the elevated forest, the river pulled upwards into a gentle waterfall.  
"Want a drink?" Claire asked her friend, nodding her head in the direction of the river.  
Following her gaze, Willow smiled, tossing her almost empty water bottle to her friend.  
"Sure."  
Claire scooped up her own water bottle and got to her feet, making her way slowly down the other side of the hill.  
Reaching the river bed, she cupped her hand and lowered it into the crystal clear water and allowed a small trickle of the liquid to fill her hand. Lifting it to her lips, Claire tasted the water first to make sure it wasn't dirty, or worse – stagnant.  
The cool liquid ran down her throat and Claire smiled, satisfied, before she lowered the open water bottles into the gently flowing water.  
When they were full, Claire twisted their lids back on and got to her feet, turning in a slow circle to take in her surroundings.  
The clusters of purple and white were more frequently occurring on this side of the hill and – wait a second, was that something red?  
Claire furrowed her brows in confusion as she moved closer to the small patch of red.  
She looked quickly over her shoulder as she went, there, on the hilltop, Willow busied herself with preparing lunch.  
Reverting her gaze back to the small patch of red, a surprised gasp escaped Claire's lips.  
"Strawberries," she murmured.  
Stooping down next to them, she tucked the water bottles under her arm and plucked at the bright red fruit, placing them in the small makeshift basket she had improvised out of her shirt hem.  
Keeping her eyes cast downwards as she picked the ripe fruit, she let out a startled cry when a deep voice sounded from behind her.  
"And just what do you think _you're _doing?"

_~In The Night Sky~  
_

Claire sat guiltily on the springy grass next to Willow, looking at her hands.  
In front of them stood three of the most curious boys she had ever seen.  
Each one varied in height and age, but what caught their attention most were the long rabbit ears that protruded from beneath their silky hair.  
The oldest, a brunette stood with his arms crossed, his chocolate eyes narrowed.  
On his left stood a thin, incredibly _pretty_ white haired boy. His short white ears twitched slightly in the soft breeze and he twirled a lollipop around in his fingertips. His cherry coloured eyes locked onto Willow and he smiled.  
On his right, a small, somewhat timid looking boy stood, a tiny yellow duckling nestled atop his silky black locks. As he tugged nervously on the blue scarf that wrapped around his neck, his long, grey ears flopped in front of his eyes.  
"What are you doing in the Amoris Basin?" asked the brunette, his voice gravelly.  
Claire looked up at him nervously.  
"We are just passing through. We plan on hiking through the forest and stopped here for lunch."  
The brunette's brows furrowed as he contemplated her response. He let out a quiet sigh as he strung together a response.  
"Hiking?" he asked and Claire nodded. "You're not going to get very far past here. The trees are horribly uprooted if you continue through the forest." He paused again. "If you turn around now, you _might_ make it to the outskirts before nightfall."  
Willow looked up at this. "Actually," she said, her eyes traveling first from the white-haired boy to the brunette, "we're camping, too. So we intend to spend the night in the forest."  
Again, the brunette's eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line.  
"Then I suppose you'll _have _to stay in the basin then," he said, "you've got no chance camping up in the forest itself."  
He nodded once to the girls then turned around sharply.  
"We won't get in your way. I expect you to gone at first light tomorrow. Willi," he added, looking over his shoulder, "Wenka. Let's go."  
The little, dark haired boy scampered to the brunette's side, however, his other companion remained exactly where he was.  
"But, Charli," he pouted. "I want to go camping, too."  
Charli shook his head, his hair falling into his chocolate eyes.  
"No, Wenka," he sighed. "We leave them alone – they'll leave us alone."  
A small smile crossed Willow's face and she held out a strawberry. Cautiously, Wenka reached out for it.  
"It's okay," Willow said, turning her gaze to Charli. "Wenka is allowed to stay if he likes. We don't mind. Right, Claire?"  
Claire shook her head and offered a small smile in the direction of the eldest.  
"I don't mind."  
A grin spread across Wenka's face and he bounced to Willow's side, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.  
"Thank you~" he sung, nuzzling her shoulder happily. He moved his cherry coloured eye to meet Willow's mismatched blue and green ones, his head tilting to the side. "Would you like some lollipop?" he asked, holding the sweet that he held tightly in his hand out to her.  
The timid boy, whose name Claire had concluded to be Willi grinned shyly, tugging on the orange scarf of his tall companion.  
"Can I stay too, Charli? Please?"  
Charli sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
"Fine. You can stay Willi. Wenka, take care of your brother."  
So they were all brothers…?  
Claire got quickly to her feet and started after the brown haired boy as he walked down the hillside towards the river.  
"Charli," she called out and, as she quickened her pace, she reached his side.  
He kept his eyes fixed ahead of him.  
"Yes?" he asked.  
"You're welcome to stay too, if you'd like."  
Charli shook his head. "No thank you. I'd rather not."  
Claire's brows furrowed together in puzzlement.  
"You're not just going to leave your little brothers by themselves, are you?"  
At this, Charli stopped walking. He turned to face the girl that stood in front of him, his chocolate eyes burning into hers.  
"Are you saying I can't trust you and your friend?"  
Claire made a small noise of surprise in her throat and she shook her head quickly.  
"I didn't say that," she stuttered quickly. "What I meant to say is, you can't just go off by yourself and leave your brothers. Stay the night, it'll be fun."  
Charli sighed, closing his eyes.  
"Alright," he said slowly. "I'll stay."

_~In The Night Sky~_

Charli sat on a small rock that protruded from the side of the hill. His head was tilted upwards and he stared at the stars that twinkled in the navy sky.  
From next to the small camp fire atop the hill, Claire sighed.  
She glanced first at Wenka and Willow who were play wrestling, happy laughs echoing throughout the basin. Then to Willi who sat by the fire side, stroking the small sleeping duckling in his lap gently with a fingertip.  
Getting quietly to her feet, Claire moved across the campsite and slightly down the hillside to the rock where Charli sat.  
"Do you mind?" she smiled, and Charli shrugged, moving over slightly so that she could sit down.  
"Why are you so mad that we're here?" Claire asked quietly, turning to face him.  
Charli remained quiet, his eyes locked on the starry sky.  
Claire watched him for a few moments before continuing.  
"Did we do something wrong?"  
Again, Charli remained quiet, and again, Claire tried to get a response.  
"Are you mad at us because I picked the strawberries?"  
At this, Charli tilted his head downwards, a smile on his face. His chocolate eyes sparkled, amused.  
He let out a small chuckle.  
"You think I'm mad at you because you picked _strawberries_?" He asked, the chuckle soon escalating into a proper, heart-felt laugh.  
Claire nodded her head. "Aren't you?"  
Charli sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.  
"That's not it," he said quietly, "you're not the first of your, er, _breed_, to have come here."  
Claire looked up, confused. "Others have been here before?"  
Charli nodded darkly.  
"That's right. I overheard them talking about plans to start logging the forest."  
A small gasp escaped Claire's lips. "That's horrible!"  
Charli looked away.  
"When I found you this afternoon, I… I thought you were one of them. I didn't want to trust you. That's why I didn't want Wenka and Willi to stay. I didn't want to put them in any danger."  
Claire reached out and touched Charli's arm lightly. He flinched slightly at her touch.  
"I understand," she said quietly. "Willow and I won't let them log the forest. I promise you."  
"Thank you," Charli murmured.  
The two of them sat on the rock and gazed up at the stars in silence for hours afterwards. It was long after the campsite above them fell silent and the small camp fire slowly died out that Claire's eyelids drooped and she began to sway. Her head touched something warm and Claire drifted off to sleep.  
Charli looked down at the girls head that rested on his shoulder, a small smile spread across his face.  
Carefully, so as not to disturb Claire, he unwound his scarf from his neck and draped the large piece of material across her body.  
Looking once more down at her, he tilted his head back to the star spangled sky above him.  
"_Sweet dreams_."

_~In The Night Sky~_

**_A/N: So, this was originally titled Wild Strawberries until about five minutes ago when I started the final paragraph. Then, I decided to slip a K-Pop reference in there._**  
**_Title credits – In The Night Sky – After School (Red)_**  
**_I guess, in a way, this is Charli x OC, Wenka x OC and Willi x Duckling. That boy is seriously the cutest. Ehehe._**  
**_Hope you enjoyed reading, because this was really fun to write considering it was a spur of the moment thing._**  
**_R&R_**  
**_-CH x_**


	2. Wall of Flames: Willi Alone

Title; In the Night Sky  
Authoress; Chrome Hearts  
Style: Three-shot.  
Chapter; II – Wall of Flame: Willi Alone.  
Fandom; My Candy Love  
Main Focus; Charli x OC Wenka x OC  
Rating; K+

_**A/N: Updated for the lovely WillowSioui, my wonderful muse~ Anyways, this is part two of In The Night Sky. Erm, originally this was a oneshot with an absolutely awful ending, so I've turned it into a three shot. However, I don't know what I'm going to do for this chapter.  
So, fingers crossed for an on-the-spot plotline. Ehehe.  
Here goes~**_

_**Disclaimer; All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm also only half certain Wenka is a boy. That in itself is a disclaimer.**_

_**~In The Night Sky~**_

"Claire," a voice breathed quietly. She felt a hand push her shoulder gently. "Claire, wake up."  
Furrowing her brow slightly, Claire's eyelids fluttered open and she let out a groggy sigh, squinting around in the semi-darkness of the clearing around her.  
Rubbing her eyes groggily, Claire pulled herself into a sitting position, her neck and back muscles aching in protest.  
"Where am I?" she mumbled quietly to herself, looking around. She wasn't at the campsite with Willow, that was for sure.  
Turning her head slightly, her dark eyes fell upon a familiar looking boy, no more than two years older than her. His shaggy chocolate hair fell across his eyes, his dark brown rabbit ears twitched slightly in the crisp morning air.  
"You fell asleep on me last night," he said, a small smile playing across his face. Gently, he tugged his patterned, orange scarf from her lap and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders like a shawl to ward off the cold.  
Immediately, a light blush painted Claire's otherwise pale cheeks and she looked away quickly.  
"Sorry," she murmured quietly, not wanting to meet his eyes. Pulling the scarf closer to her body, she shivered in the morning air. "Why are we up so early? Did you want Willow and I to leave now?"  
She glanced upwards; the sky was alight with thin streaks of orange and purple. The sun was slowly creeping up behind the basin's tree-lined walls, signalling dawn.  
Charli hooked a finger under Claire's jaw and turned her to face him. He shook his head, his chocolate eyes sparkling in the early morning light.  
"No," he said quietly, "I woke you up so you could see this."  
As the sun rose higher into the air, the tall trees that lined the rim of the basin fell behind a veil of a translucent lavender. Quickly, the thin streaks of orange that lit up the sky spread out across it like cellophane, igniting the sky with its vibrancy.  
Breaking his gaze away from the sky, Charli turned his head to face Claire once more, a weak smile tugging the corners of his lips upwards.  
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he murmured bushing a small strand of Claire's hair out of her eyes. "This is _why_ I want to protect the Basin. _Why_ I need to save the forest."  
Extending a hand, Claire took Charli's hand in her own and smiled. "And we will do everything we can to help. But first," she shot a glance towards the top of the emerald hillock where they had set up camp, then moved her gaze back to Charli. "Willow and I need to leave. We promised you we would leave at first light and, well," she chuckled softly, gesturing to the brightly lit sky. "It's light now."  
Getting stiffly to her feet, she was pulled back down once more to the rock that she previously shared with Charli.  
"You don't have to go," he murmured softly, his warm breath tickling her neck. _"I trust you."_  
Closing her eyes with a quiet sigh, Claire smiled, patting his hand.  
"And I'm glad that you do," she replied gently. Pulling herself free of his grasp, she placed Charli's orange scarf back around his neck, toying with the hemming of the soft fabric. "But I did promise. And Willow and I – there's not much that we can do for the forest out here. Back in town, we can speak to our town's member of parliament to gain their help. We can alert people. There's nothing we can do out here, unfortunately."  
"Okay," Charli said gently, getting to his feet. "I understand. But you don't have to leave just yet."  
He tugged the hem of the scarf that Claire was toying with out of her hands and wrapped the end of it around her neck.  
"It's cold," he said simply, his voice like silk.  
Claire took a small step towards the chocolate haired boy, closing the already small gap between them. Her fingers wrapped around the opposite end of the scarf that still remained draped around Charli's neck before she circled what was left of it around his neck, too.  
His chocolate eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, before his lips tugged upwards into a genuine smile and he placed his hands on her hips.  
They remained that way for a what felt like an eternity, gazing into one anothers eyes before Charli's head began to slowly move forward. Claire drew in a small breath and closed her eyes.  
"Willow!" a voice called, piercing the otherwise silent air. "Quick, come and look at this! Charli is actually _caring!"  
_Growling quietly under his breath, Charli glanced to the side of the hillock, eyes narrowed at Wenka – the boy in question squealed with delight and clapped his hands.  
"Quick Willow," he said, grabbing the blonde's hand firmly in his own. "Let's hide before he comes after us. We'll hide together, okay?"  
With a quiet sigh, Charli turned his head back to Claire's and rested his forehead against hers.  
And, for a long while, they stood there – their bodies so close they could feel the warmth radiating off one another. Entwined by nothing but a scarf. Charli slid one of his hands gently up Claire's waist and took hold of her hand, lacing their fingers together, his eyes not once leaving hers, before bringing it to rest on his chest, his hand holding hers against him. Claire could feel the pulsing of his heart quicken almost immediately at her touch and she smiled.  
The two stood together on the side of the grassy hillock, overlooking the clusters of daisies and lilac – the small glittering river stretched out a little way off. They stood there, silhouetted by the vivid orange sky.  
Just the two of them.  
_Together._

_**~In The Night Sky~  
**_

"So then," Willow asked as the two girls slowly wove their way through the thick tangles of roots and trunks. She glanced at her friend, wiggling her eyebrows. "How was it?"  
Claire furrowed her brow slightly in confusion.  
"How was _what_?" she replied, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground.  
Willow shrugged. A sly grin tugging the corners of her lips upwards.  
"You know," she said slowly, winking once at her friend. "Spending the night with Charli… And the kiss?"  
Claire rolled her eyes. "We watched the stars last night," she said simply. "And there was no kiss. We were i_nterrupted_."  
Willow giggled quietly to herself.  
"Sorry," she grinned, nowhere near sincerely. "We had to. Wenka-"  
Claire furrowed her brow in thought for a moment before cutting her friend off.  
"That boy," she said slowly. "How old is he?"  
"Wenka?" Willow laughed. "He's seventeen."  
Deadpanning, Claire's eyes widened in surprise. "No way!"  
"Yes," Willow nodded happily, "the same age as us. Although he certainly doesn't act like it. Charli is nineteen."  
Nineteen? He looked so much older. How mature.  
Sighing quietly, Claire tilted her head upwards and looked at the forest's canopy that loomed high over their heads, small speckles of the orange sky revealed themselves through the occasional parted branch.  
"Willow?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. She furrowed her brows in confusion, her gaze still firmly locked on the canopy. "What time is it?"  
"Oh, erm."  
Willow fumbled about with the sleeve of her shirt, unbuttoning the bottom of the sleeve and tugging the tartan fabric upwards.  
"Just past midday," she said, turning to face her friend. "Why?"  
The breath caught in Claire's throat and she grabbed hold of Willow's wrist.  
"What's wrong?" her friend asked, alarmed and Claire pointed up towards the canopy.  
"That isn't a sunrise," she said, her eyes darting around the surrounding trees in fear.  
Willow's eyes widened as she quickly came to the same realisation as Claire.  
"Oh no," she breathed.  
After one more quick glance at one another, they turned, dropping their backpacks as they did so.  
And they ran.  
They ran for as long as they could without feeling like their lungs were giving way. They had to find Charli. Willi. Wenka.  
_Anyone._  
It had already begun.

_**~In The Night Sky~**_

As Claire and Willow made their way into the clearing, Willow stopped abruptly, her head tilted up to the sky. The vivid, rust coloured orange spread out across the sky like a blanket. A thick layer of black smoke hung low around the clearing like an impenetrable smog.  
"No," Willow breathed as Claire continued forward. "It's too dangerous! Come back!"  
Shaking her head, Claire squinted through the smoke, trying her hardest to see any form of life.  
"Charli!" Claire called as the familiar brunette came into view as she crested the hill they had spent the night on.  
He sat next to the river, his head in his hands and did not look up when she called to him.  
Claire sucked in another sharp breath, the oxygen burning her lungs, and she picked up her pace.  
As she skidded to a halt in front of him, she reached out and took his hand in her own.  
His skin was incredibly pale and his hand shook violently as she held it.  
"Charli," Claire breathed, crouching down next to him. "What happened?"  
Again, Charli made no sound and sat with his head hung low. Still firmly grasping one of his hands, Claire gently tugged the other away from his face. Instinctively, she moved her free hand to his face, softly wiping the tears away from his eyes with a thumb.  
"What happened?" she repeated gently, and this time, Charli looked up.  
"I've lost them," he choked. "I've lost them both."  
"How?" Claire asked frantically, looked around. Charli shook his head, his chocolate hair sticking to his tear stained face.  
Wrapping an arm firmly around his waist, Claire pulled him to his feet.  
"We've got to get you to safety," she said firmly.  
Charli clenched his teeth. "I'm not going without my brothers."  
Heart racing, Claire pulled against him with as much strength as she could, stumbling forward a few paces.  
"You can wait for them on the outskirts," she said, "but you're not staying here."

_**~In the Night Sky~**_

"It's all my fault," Charli said, his voice husky. "I should have been able to protect them like a big brother should."  
"How did they leave?" Willow asked as she crouched beside Charli as he sat, his back up against a tree on one of the upper basin walls. From here, it was almost impossible to see the basin floor shrouded completely by a thick blanket of black.  
Charli gazed upwards, his eyes, full of worry, locking with Claire's.  
"We saw the smoke first," he said, shaking his head. "Veru, Willi's duckling, got frightened by it and disappeared into the shrubbery nearby, and of course, Willi ran after her. We waited for ages for him to come back with her, and when he didn't, Wenka grew impatient and went off in search for him. I tried calling him back. I even tried holding him – nothing worked. Wenka didn't come back either."  
Claire stroked his hair comfortingly as she pulled the top of his orange scarf up over his mouth and nose.  
"You stay here," she said as she did the same thing with her small neckerchief, Willow following suit. "We'll go look for them."  
Immediately, Charli got to his feet. "No," he said flatly. "Get out. Go home. I don't want to lose the both of you as well."  
"We're not leaving you," Willow snapped and, grabbing hold of Claire's wrist, she pushed her way around the clusters of thick trees, towing her friend along behind her. "You can either come with us and look for your brothers, Charli, or stay. That's your choice. But we're not going to abandon them."  
Charli followed after them, his gaze locked firmly on the steaming forest floor below them and, as they slowly circled their way around the basin from above, they heard the roaring, hissing and cracking of the flames draw nearer.  
A large wall of glowing red lit up the horizon, igniting the forest around it.  
Taking hold of Claire's free hand, Charlie tugged her and Willow to the side, the girls in turn, turning their heads to stare at him inquiringly.  
"It's too dangerous to keep going straight," he said. "If we want to survive, we need to go where the fire has _been_. Not be where it is _going_."

_**~In The Night Sky~**_

The fire had destroyed everything in its path. The trees were charred, stripped of their bark and leaves and horribly wrinkled; some still alight with a burning orange flame.  
The forest floor was reduced to steaming rubble and ash – rocks, having melted, shrubbery wilted and the occasional body of a bird or mouse lay amongst the wreckage – they stood no chance against the sheer power and force of the wall of flames.  
A small figure sat hunched up against a blackened tree, its body curled up tightly and blackened with char and ash.  
"Willi!" Claire squeaked, her stomach churning sickeningly.  
Quickly making their way to the small boys side, Claire let out a quiet sigh of relief; he was still breathing, although his chest rose and fell shakily. He had certainly inhaled far too much ash for his lungs to cope.  
"Willi," Charli breathed, tugging his scarf from around his mouth and wrapping it around his brother. "Say something, please…"  
The small boy lifted his head weakly wiping away the tears that clung to his soot-covered face.  
Opening his hands, he held out the tiny body of Veru, charred and stiff.  
"I found her," he whispered quietly, looking down at the ducklings blackened body in his small hands. "She won't wake up." With a long, ash-caked finger, he stroked the charcoaled feathers on her tiny neck. "Come on, Veru. You can't be sleeping now."  
Charli looked down at his brother sadly, cupping his hands around Willi's as he held the small duckling close to him.  
"Veru's not sleeping," he said, his voice cracking. Claire could feel her heat slowly breaking for the small boy.  
Willi lifted his head, staring at his brother in the eyes, his own welling with tears.  
"Yes she is," he said, his voice quivering. "Wenka told me that when ducklings are hurt, they go to sleep for a while. But it's been a long time and," he looked down at the duckling in his hands, shaking it slightly. "She won't wake up."  
"Wenka," Willow breathed, looking around. "Where is he?"  
Willi shook his head, getting shakily to his feet. He whimpered quietly as he tugged his pant leg away from a burn that ran the length of his calf.  
"I don't know," he said, cradling Veru to his chest, his finger softly stroking her neck. "He was helping me look for Varu. I don't know where he is."  
Claire bent down to meet Willi's eyes.  
"Where did you find Veru?" she asked, her voice shaky.  
Lifting a hand, Willi pointed to a small bush that was still alight with flames.  
"Veru was in there," he said softly. "She was hiding."  
Charli sprinted towards the bush, pulling the burning branches apart to search for his brother, ignoring the searing pain as the flames licked his hands.  
The inside of the bush was completely empty – a small duck feather lay untouched on the otherwise singed floor.  
"Charli?" Willi whispered as he crossed the small distance back towards where we sat. He looked down at the duckling in his hands, then back up at his brother. His bottom lip quivered, and tears once again began to run down his cheeks. "Veru isn't going to wake up, is she? She's dead."  
Charli nodded his head once before slumping against the charred tree trunk.  
Again, Willi hunched over, small sobs escaping his mouth as his lungs shook with every shuddering breath he took.  
Willow wrapped an arm tightly around him and pulled him into her shoulder.  
"It's okay," she soothed as Willi's small sobs grew louder, but fewer as he grieved for his duckling – his best friend.  
"Charli," Claire breathed, moving over to him, taking his burnt hands in her own. "He wasn't there, was he?"  
Charli shook his head as he clenched one of his hands into a tight fist, ignoring the excruciating pain that washed through him as the tender, brunt skin touched one another.  
"No," he said. "Wenka is still out there.

_**~In The Night Sky~**_

_**A/N: WillowSioui – I like them scarf kiss scenes, okay? Hehehehe. I couldn't help it. It's not often you come across a MCL character with a scarf. xD  
Also, if you haven't noticed – Charli, Willi, Wenka = Charlie. Willy Wonka. Therefore, it seemed fitting that Willi's duckling be called Veru, after Verruca Salt. **_


End file.
